When you’re creating content - blog posts, social media posts, videos - what do you think your primary goal is?

Is it to serve them valuable information that they find helpful? Or to demonstrate our expertise and show them the ways that we can be of service? I would argue that our primary goal is to make a connection.

In other words, we need to create content that resonates with our audience. Our job is to help them feel seen and heard.

Your content marketing strategy starts here because it’s through this sense of connection that they learn that they can trust us… which means (1) that we have their best interest in mind and (2) what we offer will, in fact, help them.

So, the question I have for you is:

What are you doing to help your audience connect with your content and, inherently, with you?

This is where I think a lot of people struggle, and here’s why this is a problem…

If your audience doesn’t connect, they don’t learn how you and what you offer help them. So they go away in search of answers elsewhere. That’s not going to help you build your business!

There’s one thing that you can do that can flip this switch and create a connection with the people in your audinece every time you create content. It’s actually a common marketing concept that I want to share with you, along with a small shift that will help you use it more effectively.

It’s possible that you’ve heard of it and if you have – I invite you to stick with me to hear the shift that I’m going to suggest that will make it even more powerful.

The marketing concept that I’m talking about is “WIIFM,” which stands for “What’s in it for me.”

This is an important question that we all, as humans, think about as we go through our daily lives. Whenever we see or do anything – read a blog post, peruse social media, flip on the TV, go to the store – we’re always asking ourselves, “What is in this for me?” And if the answer is not satisfactory… if we don’t find anything that resonates with us… we move on.

When it comes to the concept of WIIFM or “What’s in it for ME,” there’s one thing we each have to keep in mind: The “me” isn’t us. We have to remember to switch that idea of “me” to the perspective of our audience.

The intention here is to feel empathy for our audience; to put ourselves in their shoes.

I think this can be difficult when we’ve already thought the word “me,” because it resonates with us. This is a question we ask ourselves in our own lives all the time, so switching from our own perspective to an empathic “from my audience” perspective isn’t easy. But the fix for this IS easy!

Instead of WIIFM, I use the acronym WIIFT: "What’s in it for THEM?"

That way, there's no shifting of perspectives. No remembering to change anything.

WIIFT goes straight to the heart of where every piece of content we create should begin:

What is in it for THEM?
Why do THEY need to hear this?
How will THEY benefit from this?

When we start with this question, we start with what’s most important: Our audience.

So what should you do with this? Next time you sit down to create any piece of content, whether it’s social media, a blog post, a podcast, an email, ask yourself this question first: “WIIFT: What is in it for them?”

Ask yourself what you want them to get out of this message, and then use that answer to create content that resonates with your audience and helps you build a connection.